In whom the god of this world... — The word sounds somewhat startling as a description of the devil, but it has parallels in “the prince of this world” (John 14:30), “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The world which “lieth in wickedness,” perhaps in the evil one (1 John 5:19), worships the spirit of hate and falsehood and selfishness, and in so doing it practically deifies the devil. And the work of that god of this world is directly in antagonism to that of God. He seeks to lead men back from light to darkness. “He blinded” (the Greek tense indicates an act in past time without necessarily including the idea of its continuance in the present) “the minds of the unbelievers.” The noun is probably used, as in 1 Corinthians 6:6; 1 Corinthians 7:12-15; 1 Corinthians 10:27; 1 Corinthians 14:22-24, with a special reference to the outside heathen world. Their spiritual state was, St. Paul seems to say, lower than that of Israel. The veil was over the heart of the one; the very organs of spiritual perception were blinded in the other.
Lest the light of the glorious gospel. — Better to the end that the radiance (or, light-giving power) of the gospel of the glory of God... The words describe not merely a purpose, but a result. The word for “light” here, and in 2 Corinthians 4:6, is not the simple noun commonly used, but a secondary form, derived from the verb “to give light” or “illumine.” The English version “glorious,” though a partial equivalent for the Greek idiom of the genitive of a characteristic attribute, lacks the vigour and emphasis of the original, which expresses the thought that the gospel is not only glorious itself, but shares in the glory of Christ, and has that for its theme and object. But even that gospel may fail of its purpose. The blind cannot see even the brightness of the noon-day sun. The eye of the soul has to receive sight first. So, in the mission to the Gentiles given to the Apostle on his conversion, his first work was “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light” (Acts 26:18).
Christ, who is the image of God. — The Greek word is used in the LXX. of Genesis 1:26 for the image of God, after which man was created. So in 1 Corinthians 11:7 man is spoken of as “the image and glory of God.” (Comp. Colossians 1:15; Colossians 3:10.) In Hebrews 10:1 it stands as intermediate between the object and the shadow, far plainer than the latter, yet not identical with the former, however adequately representing it.
Should shine unto them. — Literally, should irradiate, or, cast its beams upon them.